Title: Moneyval Issues Tough Warning to Bulgaria on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing
Subtitle: Fifth Round Evaluation Report Highlights Persistent Weaknesses in Bulgaria’s Anti-Financial Crimes Regime
Bulgaria received a stern warning from the Council of Europe’s Moneyval committee regarding the need to strengthen its measures against money laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (TF) following the publication of the fifth-round evaluation report on June 27, 2022.
Concerns and Recommendations
The report outlined several areas of concern for Bulgarian authorities, with the call for improvements mainly focused on:
- Regulatory frameworks
- Financial intelligence usage
- Investigations and prosecutions
Persistent Weaknesses
Previous assessments from Moneyval have identified ML and TF risks, yet concerns remain regarding the limited understanding and effective response to TF risks due to a scarcity of comprehensive statistics. Additionally, the lack of technical tools affects inter-agency cooperation between law enforcement agencies.
Recommendations for Improvement
Bulgaria is advised to develop a more systematic approach to examining the financing aspects of terrorism-related offenses and enhance its national mechanism for the enforcement of targeted financial sanctions. Other measures to address ML and TF include:
- Conducting a more comprehensive analysis of non-profit sectors’ vulnerabilities
- Strengthening risk-based supervision or monitoring of at-risk non-profit organizations
Progress and Further Steps
Although Bulgaria made some progress in certain areas, such as the assessment of ML and TF risks and international cooperation, further improvements are necessary in areas related to:
- The use of financial intelligence
- Investigations and prosecutions of ML
- Confiscation of proceeds of crime
- Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation financing
Importance of Transparent and Accurate Beneficial Ownership Information
Transparent and accurate beneficial ownership information is especially important and requires prompt review and improvement.
International Cooperation
Bulgaria is known for providing constructive and timely assistance, despite facing technical and procedural constraints.
Opportunity for Improvement
This latest evaluation report provides an opportunity for Bulgarian authorities to address the identified weaknesses and enhance their efforts in preventing and combatting ML and TF.